The Strongest Talent Tree

Chapter 212: Chapter 209: Fourth Sister?

A sense of euphoria, born from the very depths of his soul, washed over him as he felt the changes within his body.

Theoretically, once a Mage reached level one hundred, all ten of their major gene roots could reach the 100-base mark. At that point, they would acquire the 100-base abilities of all ten roots, and their power would undergo a qualitative transformation.

’It’s time to prepare for fourth-rank gear,’ Feng Hao thought with a private chuckle.

Most Mages started preparing for their next tier of gear after level thirty-five. Feng Hao was already level thirty-eight, just two levels shy of becoming a Fourth-rank Mage, and his Shadow Beast Hide Armor was quickly becoming obsolete.

He stood up and stretched, feeling a sense of deep comfort spreading through his entire body.

He ambled downstairs with a cheerful grin, only to find Yao Ying looking after the shop. This surprised him. "Huh? Didn’t you go on vacation?"

"That was ages ago." Yao Ying shot him an irritated look, but her expression suddenly froze. She had just noticed, to her astonishment, that Feng Hao was already level thirty-eight. "Gods, your level?!"

’He went from level thirty-two to thirty-eight after just half a month in seclusion? Is this some kind of joke?’

Feng Hao flashed a smug grin, swaggered over to the sofa, and plopped down. His gaze was playful. "What can I say? When I get serious about cultivating, even I scare myself."

Yao Ying’s heart pounded in her chest. She leaned in closer, her beautiful eyes sparkling with a mixture of shock and curiosity. "How did you do it?"

"Why all the questions? Just focus on being a good shop clerk." Of course, Feng Hao couldn’t tell her about the Experience Pills. He started walking toward the blacksmith’s shop next door. "You stay busy. I’m going to pop over to Elder Tang’s."

"Hey, wait!" Yao Ying grabbed Feng Hao, her expression crestfallen. "Come on, tell me!"

"Get off." Feng Hao shrugged her off, his eyes filled with annoyance. "Don’t ask questions you shouldn’t."

"But..."

"But nothing. Just be a good little shop clerk." Feng Hao snorted, turned, and slipped into the blacksmith’s shop.

Yao Ying stood frozen on the spot, only snapping out of it after a long moment. Her face was a mask of frustration and helplessness. In all her life, she had never met a man so utterly clueless and unromantic. It made her feel as if she could never, ever get close to the real Feng Hao.

’Why is he like this? Am I really that repulsive to him?’ Yao Ying’s eyes filled with sorrow.

Meanwhile, Feng Hao had already begun hammering away at the chunk of iron. After his significant level increase, the effects of his hidden-force forging technique had also improved.

Elder Tang knew Feng Hao was planning to go into seclusion, so he wasn’t surprised by his half-month absence. What did shock him, however, were the results of Feng Hao’s training. "Xiaofeng, isn’t your progress a little too fast?"

"Er, it’s just average, I guess," Feng Hao said, brushing it off with a laugh.

"Did your genetic activity surpass one hundred points? No, that’s not right. For this speed, it must be at least two hundred," Elder Tang said, his eyes wide with astonishment.

Feng Hao was taken aback but decided to just go with it. "Ahem... something like that."

"That explains it, then." Elder Tang nodded thoughtfully. "With talent like that, you really shouldn’t be specializing in forging. Just come by whenever you have free time. Don’t let it delay your cultivation."

"Heh, it’s not like I’m short on time," Feng Hao replied with a helpless laugh.

...

When he returned to the general store that evening, Yao Ying seemed to be in low spirits. She said a few brief words and then left.

Feng Hao couldn’t be bothered with her mood. He went back to his room and started cultivating.

As his Divine Sense sank into his sea of consciousness, he suddenly realized a serious problem. In order to focus on his seclusion, he had deliberately blocked his Listening Stone’s signal. If anyone had tried to contact him, their Divine Sense message would just be stored in the device.

’Probably no one was looking for me, right?’ Feng Hao thought as he subconsciously unblocked the Listening Stone.

WHOOSH! WHOOSH! WHOOSH!

The moment he unblocked it, a flood of Divine Sense messages poured in. There were messages from Yu Xiaoxiao, Sun Yaowen, Houhuiyao, and Xiyue Frost. On top of all that, there was even one from his big brother, Lin Luo.

Yu Xiaoxiao: "The goods arrived. I’ve sent the money back to you. Make sure you receive it."

Sun Yaowen: "You ungrateful brat! Have you completely forgotten about the monster research? Get your butt over here now!"

Houhuiyao: "Boss! Boss! I’ve got the latest intel! Sister Tiao is getting ready to come after you for revenge. I’m risking my life to send you this message!"

"..." Feng Hao was speechless. That Man Tiaotiao really lived up to her name.

Xiyue Frost: "I have successfully constructed my new Secret Technique. I am now honing my mastery of it. Prepare to face my challenge."

Feng Hao chuckled in bemusement. ’My so-called sister-in-law sure is bored. Why is she always looking to spar with me for no reason?’

Lin Luo: "Brother Feng, Brother Feng, reply when you get this."

’Big Brother needs me for something?’ Feng Hao paused, then subconsciously connected his Listening Stone to Lin Luo’s. "Big Brother, what’s up?"

Lin Luo’s Divine Sense message quickly came through the Listening Stone: "Finally! So, what have you been up to these last few days?"

"I was in seclusion for a while," Feng Hao answered truthfully.

"Ah, so that’s what it was." Lin Luo chuckled. "I’m mainly calling to tell you about the disciple selection for the Thief God."

"Uh, isn’t that still more than a year away?" Feng Hao asked, taken aback.

"The official selection is, but don’t we have the preliminaries first?" Lin Luo said, exasperated. "I’ve already sent Cankun to come get you. I reckon he should be there in the next few days."

Feng Hao clicked his tongue. "When are the preliminaries?"

"In half a month. But it’s always good to arrive early. For one, you can scope out the competition. For another, the old-timers at the Grand Hall want to meet you," Lin Luo said with a soft laugh.

"Alright. I’ll go with Brother San when he gets here," Feng Hao agreed with a nod.

Lin Luo chuckled and nodded. "The brothers and I have already taken care of your registration and info packet. All you have to do is show up. By the way, Brother Feng, what’s your strength like now?"

"I just used an Experience Pill. I’m level thirty-eight now."

"Not bad. You meet the requirements for the preliminaries," Lin Luo said with a laugh.

Feng Hao paused to think for a moment. "Is the competition fierce in the preliminaries?"

"Of course the competition is fierce. After all, there’s only one spot left. Nearly every eligible young thief from all the branch halls will be participating. Some are incredibly strong, and others are just there to stir the pot. As for the specific roster and their files, your Fourth Sister has already gathered them for you."

Feng Hao froze, his expression one of utter shock. "Fourth Sister?"

"The Fourth Disciple. You haven’t met her yet. I’ll introduce you two when you get here," Lin Luo said with a laugh.

"Shouldn’t that be Fourth Brother?" Feng Hao asked, nonplussed.

Lin Luo burst out laughing. "Haha, my bad, I didn’t explain. Old Four is the first female disciple in our Thief God Hall."

"Is she pretty?" Feng Hao asked curiously.

"You’ll find out when you get here, won’t you?" Lin Luo teased. "That’s all for now. I still have to deal with the logistics for the preliminaries."

"Alright, I’ll let you get back to it, Big Brother." Feng Hao nodded in understanding and slowly severed the Divine Sense connection.

Opening his eyes, Feng Hao couldn’t help but frown. ’The preliminaries, huh? I wonder how far I can get with my current strength.’

"Tch, why am I overthinking this? I’ll cross that bridge when I come to it." Feng Hao shook his head with a light laugh. ’I was the number one Assassin in *Mage*, after all. Getting through some preliminaries should be a piece of cake, right?’

With that thought, Feng Hao stopped worrying about it. He closed his eyes, entered a state of meditation, and began his daily cultivation...

Visit and read more novel to help us update chapter quickly. Thank you so much!